Grass-leaved Starwort
Stellaria graminea
Not native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 47%
- Height
- 10–20 inches
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to average
Do not plant. Listed invasive in West Virginia.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
Not yet recorded · Spread · Light · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 14 West Virginia counties.
Who uses this plant?
14CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Stellaria
- Agnorisma badinodisPale-Banded Dart
- Agrotis venerabilisVenerable Dart, Dusky Cut-Worm
- Elaphria grataGrateful Midget
- Euphyia intermediataSharp-Angled Carpet Moth, The Intermediate
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
- Haematopis gratariaChickweed Geometer
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Lacinipolia renigeraBristly Ground Cat, Bristly Cutworm Moth, Kidney Spotted "Mamestra"
- Lobocleta ossulariaDrab Brown Wave
- Xanthorhoe ferrugataRed Twin-Spot, Twin-Spot Carpet
Show all 14
- Xestia c-nigrumSpotted Cut-Worm, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lesser Black-letter Dart
- Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
- Xestia smithiiSmith's Dart
- Caryocolum cassella
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
18BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Stellaria
- Agelaius tricolorTricolored Blackbird
- Anser rossiiRoss's Goose
- Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Haemorhous mexicanusHouse Finch
- Junco hyemalisDark-eyed Junco
- Lagopus leucuraWhite-tailed Ptarmigan
- Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
- Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
- Oreortyx pictusMountain Quail
Show all 18
- Passer domesticusHouse Sparrow
- Pheucticus melanocephalusBlack-headed Grosbeak
- Pipilo maculatusSpotted Towhee
- Spinus psaltriaLesser Goldfinch
- Spizella passerinaChipping Sparrow
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
- Zonotrichia atricapillaGolden-crowned Sparrow
- Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Plant details
- Family
- Caryophyllaceae
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Height · “10–20 inches” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
Also known as
Grass Leaf Starwort; Grass leaved Starwort
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- West Virginia DNR invasive plant list
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- NatureServe Explorer
- West Virginia occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications